


The Criminal in the Mind

by poisond_flower



Category: Criminal Minds (US TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-10
Updated: 2020-11-10
Packaged: 2021-03-08 19:34:11
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 12,135
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27482032
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/poisond_flower/pseuds/poisond_flower
Summary: Dr Winters is the newest member of the BAU, how will her addition shake up the unit? Starting around Season 5. Eventual Hotch/OC or Reid/OC. So far, there will be hints of both. Reviews more than welcome! xo
Relationships: Aaron Hotchner/Original Character(s), Aaron Hotchner/Original Female Character(s), Spencer Reid/Original Character(s), Spencer Reid/Original Female Character(s)
Kudos: 8





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: This is my first go at a Criminal Minds fic! I'm still not sure if I want it to be Reid/OC or Hotch/OC or maybe hints of both I'm not sure (so if you have a preference send me a comment). This isn't a crossover, but it is set in the 'same world' as Hannibal (the tv series) as there is mention of Will Graham. Also, one chapter may be a crossover with another procedural crime series eventually, just for my own fun. I hope you enjoy this - I've written it in-between the cases they have on the show rather than just planting an OC into episodes (although I might do that to for some things). Final thing - it's set more modern day xoxo

_Chapter One_

_"Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end." - Seneca_

She walked into the elevator, sighing, she was nervous. First impressions were something other people found important, so she had tried to make an effort. Minimalistic makeup, her bleach blonde hair twisted into an uncharacteristically neat lawyer's bun. Appearances were important to people, she knew this. She was trying.

New home, New job, New Country. Shouldn't she be used to this by now? She knew she would be one of the youngest in the room at all times, she was 26 and a Doctor in Forensic Psychology. To say she had an advantage in her studies was an understatement. She had been working with British Intelligence and Interpol during her studies, as a 'consultant' and now she had been seconded to the Bau in Quantico, Virginia.

"Hello, you must be Dr Winters. SSA Hotchner, thanks for joining us. You're just in time, we've had a call"

"Straight in at the deep end then?" He nodded stoically, affording you an apologetic look before walking into what you can only presume was the briefing room.

"Everybody, listen up. This is Dr Harmony Winters, she is our new liaison officer with the British secret service" Hotch made brief introductions, "Doctor, this is SSA David Rossi, as you already know" Dave nodded at her and she smiled back as Hotch introduced her to the new people, "Doctor Spencer Reid and Agents Prentiss, Morgan, Jareau and this is Penelope Garcia. You will have to make your own introductions on the jet, we've got a case and it's a bad one"

"Thanks, Hotch, nice to meet you, Harmony! Now, over to the murderous portion of the day"

"That's every day, baby girl"

"Sunny Los Angeles, California. We've had reports on a serious disturbance with the fingerprints being someone that was missing for several years. When they finally found them after using cctv, and a nifty software program I helped develop, they were led to a mass-grave including the woman found on the tape"

"So the unsub killed themselves?"

"We don't know, it's unlikely this type of unsub would go out so quietly"

"Suicide by cop or a high-profile ploy in front of the media"

"You know, statistically, the number of people that secure suicide-by-cop through direct confrontation is only 16%, the rest are usually as a result of accidental or disturbed intervention as a crime is already underway" Reid spoke up, adding to the conversation.

Everyone seemed to be expecting the new woman to speak up, they had seen it before with new or young agents. Often, they speak everything that they know in order to prove themselves but she didn't. They glanced at her for a moment, her sleek bleached blonde hair falling out of the bun she had carefully crafted that morning, her clothes were just about regulation, opting for combat trousers and a top rather than a blouse and a skirt half the office had decided to wear. She knew the score, as if she was at ease here. She wore comfortable clothes, easier to move in as Prentiss or JJ would. She wasn't trying to impress them. When she didn't say anything, merely looking around the room and nodding her agreement, they moved on. She was feeling them out, checking their places in the group.

"Wheels up in 30" Hotch concluded, swiftly moving out of his seat as the others went to retrieve their go-bags.

They were all on the plane now. Harmony had sat in the centre of the plane, figuring the others would want chance to introduce themselves, or interrogate her more likely. She didn't mind, she understood. They appeared to be a family and she was expecting a backlash from at least one of them for challenging the intricate cogs of the group. She was in the out-group for all intense and purposes currently. Being British, her role wasn't actually explained properly and she had never worked with them before so there was definitely suspicion from the others, no matter how friendly they were being.

"So, Harmony, right? I'm Emily Prentiss, I hope you don't mind me asking but how old are you?"

"26, but I can do my job if that's what you're concerned about"

"Oh, no, she's not concerned, she's just curious. We weren't told you would be joining us. I'm Jennifer jareau but you can call me JJ, everyone does"

"Sorry, did I come across as a real bitch? I'm used to the women I work with hating me before I open my mouth. I can never tell if it's my natural personality or them just pulling me down so they can step on my shoulders to climb further up the ladder"

"Oh God, I hate that" Prentiss whispered sending her an understanding glance. She spoke politely with them for a while before they were interrupted.

"Hey, how's it going little mama?" Morgan came to check in on her, she had admitted to him she was nervous for her first day. Why hide it from him, he was a profiler too after all. He had already had his interrogation of her on the walk to the plane, he was a very warm person and she instantly got along with him, letting his pet-names slide, she just nodded and shrugged. The older men had kept their distance from her, allowing her time to settle.

"Hey, Reid have you spoken to our new friend? You probably have lots in common" He winked and Spencer blushed, but awkwardly smiled at her as she smiled back. There was definitely an air of tension from the rest of the room still as they weren't aware of why she had been brought in. They worked around the U.S why would they need a British liaison? Nobody wanted to broach the subject though or risk alienating the younger woman who already appeared to feel as if she was expecting not to be welcome.

Eventually everyone went into their own spaces and Rossi came and sat next to her.

"Kid, how's it going? We talked about this, try not to be so, uh…"

"Blunt?"

"I was going to say suspicious, but, yeah. They're profilers, they just want to figure out where ya fit"

"I'm only reflecting what I feel from the room" Harmony shrugged and he nodded, a comforting arm on her shoulder before going back to his seat. She had met David Rossi some years ago now, on the European leg of his book tour. There had been a disturbance in London, a serial killer and they had both been brought in to consult. Since then, they had written back and forth and kept in contact. He was the one that suggested they create the position for her. She had an asset that was somewhat unique and Hotch was happy to approve once he read Winter's file.

_**xoxoxo** _

It was a long journey from Virginia to California and so Harmony put her earphones in, listening to some music. It was the one thing that could ground her, she needed to prepare for the case. It was going to take a toll on her. It always did. She closed her eyes, the music was low enough to let her hear over the music, but they didn't know that. They had all already gone over the case so now it was just everyone keeping themselves occupied until they landed, resting back in the chair as they spoke.

"Hotch, the kid seems nice but why's she here?" Morgan was the first one to ask. She guessed he would be. He's to the point, likes to get the facts as soon as possible.

"She's very good at what she does and we need someone with a fresh and unique perspective"

"But British Intelligence? I worked closely with them at Interpol, they're usually a domestic agency. Why is she here?" Prentiss spoke up.

"Look, you'll understand at the crime scene" Dave explained, knowing you were probably listening.

"This is unusual, Hotch. You would at least warn us before someone joins the team and she doesn't seem to be used to working in a group setting"

"Statistically the younger you are the less likely you are to care about formality. She is younger than the rest of us-"

"Only barely younger than you, pretty boy" Morgan teased, cutting him off, and Reid went back to his game of chess.

When they touched down, they went straight to the scene and Harmony was starting to feel a bit tense as they got further to the crime scene. This was what she was here for, but it didn't make it easier. She wouldn't change what she did, the way she could help but it did take an emotional toll. A toll that she was going to have to trust these people with eventually if she continued to work with them. She knew some would be sceptical, some may be not respect her in the field. They walked to the scene, a mass grave, twelve bodies. All Caucasian, blonde and female they were informed on arrival.

"What do you need?" Hotch dropped his voice, out of earshot of the others.

"Just, space. I can't be around distractions" she whispered. He nodded once and moved to bark his orders.

"I'm going to need everybody to move back, out of both the barn and the gravesite!" Hotch commanded and they listened. He then turned to the others, everyone was there because they knew it was the best way to show them why Harmony was there, telling the others to move back. They didn't know what was going on, half of them should have gone to the local precinct.

Winters closed her eyes, centring herself as she walked towards the barn, which was the crime scene. Hopefully the scene hadn't been contaminated by the law enforcement that had got there first. It had to be mostly untouched for this to work.

"This is where they are saved. Only one will be honoured in the mortal flesh. Only after the test" She said, her voice devoid of emotion, "I select them slowly, with care. Anything out of place would be unbecoming. I honour them, I honour them with my touch" Harmony's eyes had dilated and were glazed over. Her entire demeanour had changed, she raised her fist as if holding a weapon, stabbing once, twice and then a third time. Carotid artery and then two more. Why the other two, they would bleed out the same.

She started to walk out of the barn, past the watching eyes of the profilers.

"I was lost once, but now I'm found. Just as they are. I choose them for a reason, I select them, watch them for at least a month. They were lost as she once was, and now they are found"

"Oh my God, what the hell is going on, Hotch?"

"Just- leave her, let her finish" He muttered, eyes never leaving her form as she moved around the scene. He had never seen anything like it either.

"Didn't realise they taught seances with doctorates now" Prentiss said to JJ. Harmony whipped around, her demeanour back to how it had been when they first met her.

"Weapon of choice is sacrificial, has to be the same one each time. Tell the ME to look at the edge of the wound for the blade mark, it might help narrow it down if you can get it onto that nice tech analyst so she can get to the manufacturer. Can I have my treat now I've rolled over on command?" She concluded, turning to Rossi who nodded. He took some breakfast bars that were pretty much pure sugar and passed them over to her. She ripped into them and quickly ate as everyone just stared, "What? You didn't tell them I'm the star of your next book did you?" She grinned, shoving most of the bar into her mouth and chewing as if she hadn't eaten in days.

"You should be so lucky" Rossi warned, an almost amused look on her face at how everyone was reacting to the situation. She took the bun out and scraped her hair into a messy ponytail instead, the time for neat first impressions was over.

"W-what the hell was that?"

"Dr Winters possesses an extraordinary level of empathy. This empathy manifests as the ability to assume the point of view of criminals and psychopaths, not just as we do, but to the point of actually reconstructing their mentality as her own"

"I am them… I, uh, become them" There were some shocked faces. Reid's frown was prominent as he stared at her as if she were a circus oddity. She shifted under everyone's stares, but his especially.

"It is rare and we are lucky to have her with us. I'm sure she will field questions at a later date but right now we really do need to get to the precinct and set up. Morgan, Reid talk to the ME and put a rush on the blade" They nod, "JJ, Prentiss I'll need you with the families, they are still matching the missing persons as we speak. Winters, I need you on the cctv to tell us why our missing person when she had a chance to escape went to commit a felony instead of escaping"

"I-I can't go again" It took a toll. It was mentally draining and it just plain wasn't fun. There was always the risk that one day, she wouldn't be able to escape the mentality she had honed in on and that terrified her. She couldn't do it more than once a day and even more than once a week was pushing it.

"You are still a profiler, Dave will be with you"

"Aw great, gramps is babysitting" This was a flippant comment, but it was actually true. Rossi had made the higher-ups aware that she would need someone with her, she couldn't be left alone. At least for a while, she would have to be monitored. He had met the last man who had been on loan to the FBI with her gift, and he was now in a secure facility after becoming an unsub himself.

_**xoxoxo** _

Harmony had a pounding headache as she sipped on some sweet coffee. The blinds were all closed, just the light from the screens lit up hers and Rossi's face. Sugar was the one thing that kept her going, to say she had a sweet tooth was putting it mildly. She claimed she needed the sugar after dipping into others psyches but it was also a comfort thing. They were slowly sifting through all of the CCTV, mostly in silence until they spotted something.

"Dave – pause it! There! When she wasn't caught shoplifting, she-she's crying" The woman definitely wasn't the unsub. She was a victim, she was being tested as she had said while she had inhabited the mind of the scene.

"It's grainy, kid, how can you-" Rossi started, but knew better than to question it, "You can feel it" Rossi just nodded, sometimes the gift worked in extremely helpful ways, like apparently even through grainy computer screens.

"He's watching. To see if they're caught" she shouted, closing her eyes and then quickly searching a camera from a couple of streets away. She found a car waiting, she knew it was the unsub. She figured out that the reason she was looting was because he wanted to make sure she was saved. If she was caught, she was saved. If she wasn't, he needed to save her.

"So it's a test?" she nodded, "If they get caught, they will be saved by law enforcement, if not…"

"He saves them in his own way. Honouring them" She muttered as she called Garcia's number.

"Hello, mystery caller how may I be of service to you?" Penelope had put on a hushed, sexy voice. There was a hint of a smile and Harmony couldn't help smiling at the woman.

"Hey, this is Dr winters, we met briefly about twenty-four hours ago"

"Speak and you will be heard"

"I got a reg plate, I knew he wouldn't swap them and I knew how many streets away would be his safe-zone. He didn't try to hide from the cameras. He's above such distraction. Please don't ask how I know"

"I don't need to ask, I may have hacked into your file and read everything I could find about your ooky-spooky straight from a graphic novel powers"

"Well, at least you're honest. In the secret service business, that's a breath of fresh air"

The next few days were hard, Harmony was still recovering and the others didn't seem to know what to make of her. She could tell they were stuck between pity (they all knew how bad it could get when an unsub was stuck in your head) and mistrust (I mean, who is this strange British woman coming here unannounced and dramatically playing out the crime scene?). Garcia had run the registration plate, but it appeared to belong to someone who was deceased with no current details, but she promised she would continue to do some digging.

Reid and Morgan were in the office that had been provided by the local precinct. Reid was doing a geographical profile to figure out where the unsub would have moved his operations to. Spencer wasn't really paying attention to the geographical profile, however, he was too busy ranting about the most recent member of the team just as she walked into the room behind him.

"Reid-" Morgan warned.

"S-she can't be for real! I've seen people like that, a lot of it is embellished. We can't just take her word for it – how are Rossi and Hotch signing off on-"

"Reid, quit it. Now" Morgan said, still maintaining eye-contact with Harmony who was just stood behind listening. Reid turned, his eyes wide as he saw her stood in the doorway.

"Just checking on the Geographical profile, he's lost his burial site so he'll, uh, either escalate or hide. I'm hoping escalate, that way he'll start the lengthy process of testing his victim which is vocal to begin with, before he starts honouring anyone" Harm winced as she said 'hoped'. She came across very blunt sometimes, she never hoped someone was victimised, she could become them just as easily and it was horrible. She just wanted to catch the unsub.

"It's not honour" Reid bit back at her choice of words. The same choice of words she had used when she had 'become' the unsub. If she's still thinking like him now, how do they know she hasn't tipped him off already? Telling him to run.

"He believes he's honouring them. When they disappoint him, he leaves judgement to sacrifice. He's trying to find her again, she's lost"

"So why doesn't he 'honour' them by giving them individual graves? Why does he gut them in a barn like cattle?"

"Do you want the answer or are you trying to get me to gut you like the innocent victims of a very sick individual?" Harmony quipped, she was used to people not liking her for this.

"I want the answer"

"You couldn't handle the answer, pretty boy" Morgan and Reid realise once again, the girl had caught them talking about her before this incident. She had been awake on the plane. Morgan decided to cut his losses and smoothly move onto something everyone liked. Praise.

"You were right about the blade. Sacrificial, old fashioned, Penelope's putting a rush on finding the man who bought it in an auction a decade ago. The paper-trail seems a little shaky though"

Everyone assembled in the room, leaving Morgan relieved he didn't have to suffer Harmony's calculating stare any longer. Hotch revealed they were ready to give the profile to the precinct. She looked around at the others getting ready to speak, her face twisted into a look of horror that was all her own. Rossi caught it and pulled her to the side.

"Dave I-I can't speak in front of the whole precinct"

"It's part of the job, you'll get used to it. Like, freezing cold water, it's best just to jump in" Dave confirmed, patting her shoulder in reassurance before following the others out, with Harmony reluctantly trailing behind.

"Our unsub-" Morgan started, when everyone was gathered.

"The what?" someone called out.

"Perp, we call them unsubs. He'll be in his late 30s, early 40s. Male. Caucasian. Failed marriage, bad relationships with his children"

"The children, at least one will be deceased" Harmony cut in, having to make it specific. She felt the need for it to be that one girl, just as much as he did.

"This will be someone in authority, someone who would know the nature of these girls lives. If they had done something illegal or something specific that he disapproved of. This could be law enforcement, social services…"

"Think carefully if this fits anybody you know. He will talk enough to get by, never reveal anything too personal. Not unless you hit a contentious topic and then you won't be able to keep him quiet"

"I have a God-complex, I would want everyone to know about the sacrifices. I'm saving them. Is there anything that's been flagged by the newsrooms? Anything they've been sent?" The room went silent and Winters hadn't caught her slip of the tongue, "Why is everyone looking?" she whispered to the people beside her who were also lost for words.

"You spoke in first person" Reid said loud enough for everyone to hear. Winters went white as a sheet before excusing herself, having to throw up in the ladies room as the others finished the profile. When she finally dared to leave the stall, after a good hour of trying to calm herself down, she was met by two worried faces. Prentiss handed her some gum and JJ rubbed her back comfortingly. This appeared to be the start of a supportive friendship between the three of them.

"Oh, thanks… I try not to speak in front of large groups like that, less I say something like that. Tends to send the wrong message. I've been wrongly indicted for murder twelve times" she muttered, cupping her hands to get herself a drink of water before chewing on the gum.

"Is there anything we can do for you? To make it easier?" JJ asked as Harmony leaned against the sink unit, her face was pale, tinged green. Prentiss nodded along with JJ, showing her support.

"Nope, it's never easier, it's just a question of how affected by it I'll be. How long this one will remain in my psych. I'm willing to take the risk if it means saving lives" she confirmed, before one of them tried to tell her to take some time off before she'd even properly started on the team, "I'd better show my face in the bullpen before they think I've made a run for it to avoid capture"

The three women walked back in, with Harmony shivering at the faces of the victims stuck on the whiteboard. It hurt that this was all the poor women were reduced to in their death. She hoped, at least now they were found, that the families could lay them to rest peacefully, honour their memory properly. Not in the sick way she felt he was honouring them. They all gathered again in their side-room as everyone revealed where they were up to.

"We think we have an idea, when we spoke to the families all of them said that their children had been through some 'rough' spots in the year before they were taken. Mostly drug abuse and some minor theft" JJ spoke up, referring to herself and Prentiss who had spoken while they were waiting for Harmony to leave the stall.

"And winters, you were right. In every local paper near where the victims were geographically taken there were full-page ads taken out, not by family members who presumed the community had raised money to print the ads. They all read the same thing "Missing girl, presumed dead. Can we save her?" It was seen as insensitive but once it was printed there was nothing they could do" Hotch confirmed, nodding to Winters in stoic approval. She gave him a tight-lipped smile, grateful to him for being kind about what had happened. She hadn't escaped all of the glares she received from the leos when she walked back in.

Reid explained that he narrowed it down to the centre of all of the abductions, where he most likely would have moved his site to just as Garcia called.

"You're on speaker, baby, be good" Morgan warned before Garcia spoke.

"You know just how good I can- ahem, yes, well, ornate knives are actually a lot harder to track down than you think…"

"When we spoke to the families, they told us that the girls were all given counselling. It was mandatory, given by the state instead of jail time" Prentiss offered and JJ nodded confirmation.

"…But you know what isn't hard to track? Court appointed counsellors who drive their dead daughters Chevy, the registration plates being VBK-411. Kelly O'neill she looks creepily like the girls that have been found. Father, Leonard O'neill. I'm sending the address as we speak"

_**xoxoxo** _

They made it to the address, racing in the SUV to get there before anyone else had to be hurt.

"Winters, where's your gun?"

"Oh, I don't carry" She shrugged, popping her earpiece in, "What? I'm a profiler what do I need it for?"

"You'll have to stay back, let us clear the scene. If he's not here perhaps you could pick something up?" Harmony nodded her agreement, she wanted this over now. She wanted this unsub in jail. She waited, pacing a little until she heard something over the scanner.

_"He's on the top floor, hostage situation I repeat hostage situation. Brunette, early 20s, he has a gun"_ Was all Harmony heard before she made a run for it. She wasn't the height of fitness like the others who were more used to fieldwork, but she could zip in between them, charging up the stairs to the top floor to see Morgan, Hotch and Reid pointing their guns at the unsub and trying to get him to stand down.

"Who's this?" The unsub, Leonard, asked.

"Winters, turn around and leave" Hotch warned, anger laced with his voice.

"Winters? From the news?" he asked, still gripping the woman in front of him by the throat. There had been extensive news coverage of her move to the BAU since starting the case and not even JJ could calm it down, not that Harmony had seen the news since she had been on the case.

"The news?"

"yeah, it is you! Y-you were in the news, you're the one… the one that understands"

"I do understand, and if you want to understand too, you'll let the girl go. She's not your type, you're not honouring her by killing her. Swap her for me, look, I'm unarmed" She showed him.

"Winters – stand down. Now" Hotch warned, not taking his eyes off his target.

"Winters, kid, don't-" Morgan agreed, trying to gesture for her to walk away. Instead, she slowly walked towards the unsub and his hostage, her hands still raised in slight surrender.

"Go on, sweetie, slowly does it" She said, indicating her not to make a sudden move, "Reid will take you downstairs okay?" She whispered, gesturing towards the man and the frightened woman nodded as Reid took her down the stairs.

"Tell them to go" He hissed, having grabbed Harmony by the upper arm.

"Morgan, Hotchner, leave"

"You don't make orders-"

"If you don't go, I'll kill her and-" Winters cut him off, an almost comforting hand on his, that was still gripping her arm, as she shook her head. She then turned to the other agents, "Just step out of the room, outside the door. I'll scream if I'm getting shot" she added, which wasn't entirely helpful for the other agents but they did leave.

"The fates are slow, to sacrifice is to honour" He said slowly.

"If you die now, nobody will ever know exactly how you saved them, don't you get it? You'll get book deals, Netflix documentaries, your name will be everywhere. But not if you let them kill you. Come in with us, confess and I will make sure you get what you want. Because honouring you is honouring them. They'll all hear about Kelly, you can talk and everyone will listen. They'll understand that she wasn't just a girl who took a bad path. She was a black tag in tae kwondo, she always made pancakes when she was sad…"

"If I come with you, they'll know _my_ name? Kelly's name?"

"Let me cuff you, talk to us and we'll make sure of it" He nodded and Harmony slowly reached for the cuffs and put it behind his back, bringing him out to the others.

_**xoxoxo** _

When they did get him into the interrogation room he told them in great detail about his life, his crimes and afterwards about Kelly, his daughter. When he was finished, he asked when the media would get here, only to be told that there would not be any media presence. He screamed for Winters, who was watching from the other side of the glass before she grabbed her go-bag and made her way to the jet. Another unsub behind bars. Shouldn't she feel more relieved?

When they were back on the jet, the tension could be cut by the unsub's sacrificial knife. Rossi and Hotch were especially mad.

"Are ya kiddin' me? No gun, no plan and you just run in there?" Rossi exploded once they were sat on the moving jet.

"What you did was reckless and stupid, I will have to tell Strauss and your supervisory agent from the British intelligence" Hotch seethed. Harmony rolled her eyes, she really didn't want to have to talk to Johnson about this.

"I made a call" She shrugged, which angered Hotch further.

"It was reckless, we are a team here. We move together or not at all"

"So fire me then" She offered, Hotch and Rossi shared a look. Hotch went and sat away from her, as if looking at her would burst a blood vessel in his annoyance. Rossi had assured him she could handle the group setting and he had seen no evidence of this yet.

"Kid, I warned ya. This isn't the place for heroics"

"I wasn't playing hero"

"Oh, yeah? Seemed an awful lot like it to me"

"Then you might want to brush up on the profiling thing" she said bluntly as the others around them sucked in their breath again. They were all listening, shocked at how familiar Rossi was with the woman as he didn't speak, only letting her continue, "I did it because I felt that what he wanted more than anything wasn't his daughter back, after everything, but to be known by the world and if he died by one of you, that is exactly what he would have got. Now, JJ can spin something low-profile and underwhelming so that son-of-a-bitch's name never sees the light of day. Nobody should know his name. The only names the public should remember, are the twelve victims of his crimes"

Rossi nodded, the reason he and Winters got on so well was because they had a tendency to rip up the rulebook. Rossi had gotten to know the young woman well and he knew that working this team would do both them and her good. He had taken her under his wing and this wasn't about to stop now. After this admission, the plane ride home was deathly silent. Even Hotch's audible irritated sighs had lessened when she had explained herself. Everybody was trying to wrap their head around the new addition to the team as they tried to relax after the case.

_"Though no one can go back and make a brand new start, anyone can start from now and make a brand new ending" – Carl Bard_


	2. Chapter Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Disclaimer - there will be some dark themes, mostly in-keeping with the show. Especially when Winters is inhabiting another person's mind. Swearing, violence, etc, throughout. Thanks for the favs/follow! xo

_Chapter Two:_

_"Even if she be not harmed, her heart may fail her in so much and so many horrors; and hereafter she may suffer-both in waking, from her nerves, and in sleep, from her dreams." ― Bram Stoker, Dracula_

It had been four weeks since Winters ran into the hostage situation and she had been warned by both Strauss and Johnson, her British Intelligence monitor, that she was on thin-ice. However, winters knew this was an empty threat as Strauss had all but begged Rossi to convince her to join them. She was known for getting results, no matter how much or little of a team-player she came across.

Winters had been ordered by everyone senior to start training to shoot a gun. She never had before and she hated it. It pinched her fingers, the kickback was a bitch and she couldn't hit a stationery target to save her life, or anybody else's for that matter.

Morgan, feeling guilty for both times she had caught him and Reid talking about her, had offered to help. That and become her personal trainer. They had come in early to the shooting range to try and get Harmony up to speed. It was tough going, for both teacher and pupil.

"See, you're gettin' it, high five!" Morgan smiled, offering his palm that Winters met although not quite as enthusiastically.

"What do I get when I actually hit the target?" she muttered, having high-fived for missing the target 4/5 times. She put the gun away and pulled the earphones from her ears.

"Oh, somethin' very special, little mama" she laughed at how easy Morgan could move into flirtation. As they both smiled at each other, a loud noise could be heard. Someone was clearing their throat from the doorway. The pair both turned to see a familiar face.

"Reid, my man! You want some help?" Morgan offered, gesturing to the shooting range. Reid wasn't the most proficient, but he was a decent shot. Better than Winters anyway.

"Looks like you've got your hands full" Reid said stoically, making the other two frown, "I was sent down here because we've got a case" He said, turning to leave as quickly as he had entered. Winters was a little put out, she wasn't entirely sure what she had done. She knew her condition could put people off her, but she had hoped that because he was a genius and all he would have come round to her by now.

"What's his problem? Is he always like that?" She muttered, finishing off her packing up and handing the gun back in. He had been like this throughout every case they had.

"You know, it's only around you" Morgan smiled, shaking his head at his younger friend.

"That's making me feel a lot better, thank you"

"He doesn't like change and you did come in here like a whirlwind, shaking everything up. Just, give him some time, maybe show him that you can be nice?" Morgan offered, thinking back Harmony had only ever been blunt with Reid as she had only interacted with him for the case, especially since she walked in on him ranting about her. She decided that was exactly what she would do. She would be the kindest, most interested person for Doctor Reid and see where that got her.

Morgan and Winters arrived half-way through the briefing and had to be caught up properly on the way to the jet. They were going to Boston for a serial murderer who had been attacking sex workers and homeless women.

"Hey, Dr Reid, can I sit here?" She asked with a pleasant smile as everyone got settled on the jet. He shrugged, looking back to his chess game and she sat diagonally from him. The others where whispering about them as she slid into her seat. There was a ten-minute pause that was uncomfortable to say the least, before Harmony eventually spoke up.

"So, uh, you like chess then?"

"If I didn't, why would I be playing it? You don't have to pretend to care. I'm not an unsub, you can't get in my head" he said, somewhat coldly. She could get in his head just by looking at the contents of his go-bag and the manner he was holding himself in, if she wanted to. But she made it a point never to do that to people she worked with. She decided to just talk to him, be honest.

"I can, actually. My empathy isn't limited to people you and I don't like. I don't feel bad for them on purpose, it's a disorder of sorts. You can Google it"

"Hyper empathy syndrome, with a high comorbidity rate with other mental illness is linked closely to borderline personality disorder. Hyper-empathy can manifest in several ways, the most empathic end of the spectrum is rare and is often recited due to an impaired section of the brain, whether from birth or subsequent surgery"

"I fell when I was a kid, they think I impaired my amygdala" she offered, nodding at his succinct explanation of her own mind, "Sounds like you just recited the Wikipedia entry"

"I, uh, actually did. Eidetic memory" he smiled for the first time since she met him it seemed. This made her grin, wide. There was a little pause as Reid made some more moves in the chess game he was playing against himself. Harmony found herself enjoying the silence, watching the little furrow of his brow as he pondered the infinite possibilities of the gameplay.

"Cool, guess they don't call you a genius for nothing then" She smiled at him after thinking it over and catching herself staring, with Reid finding himself half-smiling back. He was a little intimidated by her, if he was honest, and she didn't appear to like him all that much. He had a feeling she was going to be another person putting him down or telling him to shut up. There was another pause and Harmony decided she didn't want the conversation to end. He intrigued her and as the only member of the team closest to her in age, she felt they should at least try to get on.

"So, Doctor Reid, what else do you do for fun?"

"Reid"

"What?"

"You can just call me Reid" he said, clearly feeling the same as Harmony. Wanting to be friendly.

"Oh, thanks! And you can call me Winters if you like, but Harmony or Harm's fine too"

"Are you really asking what I do for fun, or are you being polite? Did Morgan put you up to this?"

"Morgan told me, rightly, that I was being a bit blunt with you. The reason being, I was a little intimidated because Rossi has told me so much about the team – you especially being a genius and all. I do care, I think we could be friends, or at least colleagues that can hold a conversation or two on the way to a case" Harmony didn't mind explaining how she was feeling, she had decided she had the advantage over other people, so telling them the ay she was feeling would put them more at ease.

"Uh, I'm sorry for how I-"

"That's okay, you don't have to do that, I know you were just wary of me. I have that effect on most people, don't worry" she assured him, rolling her eyes at her own nature. People tended to keep away from her, maintaining friendships was usually very hard for her, usually for intimidation or just plain mistrust of her character. I mean, if you can inhabit the minds of serial killers that's gotta make you at least a little murderous, right?

"Okay. For fun, I like to read. I like, uh, Doctor who and shows like that" He decided to take the plunge, staring at his board as he spoke.

"Are you telling me that because I'm British?"

"N-no I was just explaining… I-I know it's not to everyone's taste" he backtracked, suddenly finding it very important to impress the woman sat leisurely putting her feet on the seat next to her as they spoke.

"I used to watch it with my older brother" she smiled at the way he tripped over his words, she found the genius almost endearing.

"Really?!" His eyes lit up and he started animatedly telling her every fact he could remember about the show. Even he was surprised when she sat, almost hanging on every word, not telling him to be quiet.

The others were shocked too, she didn't appear the type to watch that type of show and especially listen to Reid bang on about it for a good hour. She appeared the type that was too cool for that sort of thing, but she listened and even chipped in where she could explaining she had only watched the most recent ones. When Spencer tailed off comfortably, he actually managed to catch himself, he started to ask her about herself.

_**xoxoxo** _

Winters had her earphones in as she slowly walked to the Crime scene. She listened to a lot of music, taking her mind off everything. Her personal favourite was Indie/acoustic rock. It soothed her just the way she needed. Anything harder and her blood was pumping too much, anything softer and she could still feel her own thoughts and nerves about what was about to happen.

Today, Winters, Reid and Hotchner went to the crime scene – Hotch had only wanted everyone there for Winters' first case. He wouldn't subject her to an audience again. Rossi, who usually came to monitor Harm, was needed at the precinct, he knew the chief and needed to greet him and help with the families as there were a lot of missing persons and Jane does needing to be identified.

As the three trudged towards the scene, Reid was explaining something but was abruptly cut-off as Harmony stopped dead, "Don't fucking touch that!" Winters shouted, pointing at a tech that was surveying the scene. The man looked affronted, about to walk up to her and stand over her.

"FBI, we need everyone to clear out. It is very important you listen to Dr Winters and Dr Reid as well as myself, we need some space to operate" Hotchner commanded the attention of everyone and the tech walked away, glaring at Winters. Hotchner did as much as he could to get people to respect both the younger members, Harmony had noticed that he made a point of it since she joined a month ago.

"Uh, thanks Hotchner. Sorry about that, people just mess it up and it's hard to…" She tailed off, gesturing at her head as Hotch nodded his understanding. She left the men stood on the edge of the scene as she walked around, first looking out at the water before looking at where the body had lay.

"This is how I do it. The women I take are nothing but objects for my enjoyment. They are street-whores, drug addicts and drifters nobody could ever miss" She spoke, her voice cracking slightly as she cracked her neck from one side to the other. A cold stare surveying the area in the opposite way she had when she first arrived, "They deserve it, deserve to feel it. I take them here for a reason, they die looking over the banks of the water" She continued, "A reflection of the beauty of the life they held? No, a reflection of beauty as something they could never possess. So, this is where they lay. I take their throat in my hands and squeeze. I squeeze until there is no more. You should see the way the light from their eyes leaves, not even saved by reflection in the moonlight" She laughed slightly before her face stopped and she started clutching at her throat. When she snapped out of it, she was making a choking sound. Her hands still wrapped around her own throat.

"Winters! Winters, are you ok?" Hotch's commanding voice brought her mind back to him. He had rushed over, a hand on her shoulder. Her eyes refocusing as she removed her hands from wrapping around her own throat.

"Yeah, sorry" she all but wheezed at Hotch, "Uh, this one's a pretty sick puppy" Harmony offered.

"Here" Hotch offered her some candy bars, Rossi had slipped them to him before they parted. She quickly ate through them, barely getting the wrappers off in time before desperately swallowing the sugary goodness.

"He wants to control everything. He's probably watching or at least reading everything published about the case and our progress"

"It does make sense that he would involve himself in the case" Hotch nodded, something he had considered himself already.

"We need to warn the local sex workers and the homeless population – they need to look out for each other and there should be more police patrols across all high risk neighbourhoods. I know his type is women, but he's unravelling at a rate I've never felt. His hatred it-it's-" She cut herself off, clearly it had been upsetting. Hotch understood, allowing her to finish.

She was moving her neck side to side, it was a little stiff. Her fingernails had been digging into her palms and had marked the skin there, something she sometimes found herself doing when she slipped back to herself. She always cut them short, but never short enough apparently. Reid had been surveying the scene himself, reading through case notes and trying to picture everything about the location and the condition of the victims in relation to this one. He had stopped all of this, however, to watch Harmony. Hotch stood with her for a while, sending a glare over to some of the techs that had been gawping from the sidelines. Or, maybe that was his resting face and he was just looking away from Winters to give her some privacy. Hotch allowed her some space, going instead to talk to the local leos, informing them they were allowed to work without argument now.

"What, uh, happened?" Reid asked when she came over to him, her hands in her pockets, no eye-contact with him.

"I switched"

"What do you mean?"

"You can pretend you know… that you're not studying me" She hissed as he tried to drop his face but the sparkle in his eye was there. He was fascinated by it, he couldn't help it. "Oh what the hell, sometimes it switches at the end. I take the place of the victim. It's horrific"

"I'm sorry it happens that way"

"Don't worry, I'm happy to do it if it means saving the next woman from anything like that" Winters whispered, her voice a little husky as she stared along the scene that the crime scene units were now milling around again. Her eyes shone with sadness as she watched where the woman was left. Reid watched at the genuine empathy for the woman, something that wasn't even a little bit present when she had assumed the unsubs mind. He was fascinated to note even her facial cues seemed to no longer be hers when she did her work.

"Well, maybe not happy. But willing, at least" She admitted, it was an emotional and physical labour to embody people's minds and to do this for some of the most depraved was hard. She stared for a while before she spoke again, "Do you mind if I put my music back in? I need some, uh, space…" He nodded, secretly wanting to ask her so many questions about it. But knowing better than to unload on her all at once. He was starting to warm up to her a lot more than he could even admit to himself properly.

In the next couple of days, they had managed to deliver a working profile. Having Winters was an asset to them, she was able to enhance their profile with such unique insight they would miss her sorely if she ever left them. They could function fine without her, very well in fact, but she was a very welcome addition despite her sometimes unconventional approach.

Reid was sifting through the comments section online, trying to find anything that the unsub himself may have written. He had found several blogs already dedicated to the recent killer. Winters made the mistake of looking and had to leave to somewhere else as any praise sickened her.

Winters and Prentiss had been tasked with sifting through missing persons to help identify any possible new targets or people that had already been victimised.

"What's going on, Winters? You've been in your head since we got here" She muttered, knowing the younger woman probably needed to vent.

"Just, the case. It's getting to me" She replied, looking away slightly. She didn't want to explain she had barely been sleeping. She didn't have to though, Prentiss could tell. She had been the same. Prentiss saw a lot of herself in the younger woman, positioning herself as a kind of older sister.

"You don't have to hide from us. You're part of the team, Harmony. We care about you" She offered, her usual hard exterior softening slightly for the woman. She wanted to help her, protect her from the secrecy she found herself encased in.

"Thanks, Prentiss. You're a softy really aren't you?"

"Do not repeat that again" She warned, but smiled to show she wasn't serious. Winters grinned, the first genuine smile since the jet, although she still looked ridiculously tired.

Meanwhile, Morgan had been on the phone to Garcia, who had found a man that had accessed an ATM near each crime scene that she was going to look into.

_**xoxoxo** _

The case was a long one, Garcia had managed to do a little magic and identified an address for the unsub that had accessed the ATMs and had gone underground since the FBI presence in the area. Everyone except Rossi and Winters had headed the raid, but there had been no luck. If anyone had lived there recently, they had cleared out in a rush. It had been a long week, Winters was struggling to shake the innate need the unsub had to kill these women. To use them as his objects. It sickened her and the late nights had been making it worse.

They walked defeated after another long day of not really getting anywhere towards their respective hotel rooms. Rossi pulled Winters aside to whisper, "Kid, if ya need me, I'm down the hall. Knock twice"

"Thanks, gramps, I'll try to sleep it off though" she smiled, genuinely grateful for him. He had given her so many techniques over the years to help as well as a friendly ear for her to talk through anything that was bothering her. They all collapsed onto their beds, everyone's eyes closed almost as soon as their heads hit the pillows. Trying to catch this one was hard. He was horrible and smart too.

Winters' did fall into sleep quickly as the others did, she was exhausted. This wasn't her issue though, her issue was once she was sleeping she found herself trapped in horrible nightmares that always plagued her. The dreams were usually under the guise of unsubs she inhabited over the years.

Tonight, it was the unsub they were currently trying to catch. She found herself strangling people, enjoying it. Feeling pleasure from it. No matter how much her mind told her she was enjoying herself in the dream, she ended her dreams screaming and thrashing about. She was often slicked with sweat, panting as if she had run a marathon. This was why she never fell asleep on the plane. She knew this would happen and she'd get lumped with some performative psych-eval hoops to jump through.

At 1:35 a.m. she decided it would be best to talk to someone. She went down the hall, knocked twice and a figure opened the door. It wasn't who she expected. This man was younger, taller and had long-ish hair. Reid.

"Oh, crap, sorry, I thought this was Rossi's room"

"Did he, uh, a-ask you to come over to his room this late?" Reid asked, a bit stricken by this. He never thought Rossi would use his position like that.

"God, _no,_ nothing like that… he's like my Dad or something we're-we're not-" she stumbled over her words at what Reid was implying, "I'm gonna start again, Rossi told me if I needed him that he was down the hall. I must have got the numbers switched around and I knocked on your door instead…"

"what is it you need to talk about?"

"The case" she said too quickly. She didn't want to admit to Reid she had detailed dreams that went beyond the actual facts of the case because that was how you lost new sort-of friends and alienated yourself.

"It's probably best to sleep on it, like Hotch says…"

"Yeah, chance would be a fine fucking thing" She hissed as Reid looked a little perplexed, "I, uh, just can't sleep. That's all. Sorry for bothering you, I'll go now, back to my bed"

"If you like you can come in. I was already up"

"Oh, are you sure? Thank you"

He was reading so fast that she just stared in awe. He appeared to be scanning the pages faster than anything she had ever seen. She was sat in the chair near his bed, scrolling through her phone. Eventually, although she fought it, she started to fall asleep slowly. He let her sleep, knowing she obviously needed it. He wasn't able to sleep himself so he sat up in his bed reading. That was until he was interrupted. Not even an hour later, Harmony started to make the most blood-curdling screams. It jolted Spencer out of his own head and into panic-mode. He ran over to her, not sure why she was screaming at first, until he realised she was still asleep. Nightmares. He knew about that.

"Winters! Winters! _Harmony!"_ Reid shouted, but when he said her name, she started to thrash at him wildly. He hadn't touched her while she was sleeping but he was leaning over. She grabbed at him, going for his neck in the same way she had at the air at the crime scene. Reid had to grab her arms, trying to pin them to her side.

"She is mine!" She screamed, trying to strangle the person beside her who was restraining her. The girl was for her, why was she being taken away? She snapped out of it, appalled at her own words and she sat up. She was sweaty, her eyes wild, "Oh shit, I'm so fucking sorry Reid – I-I'll go now, I'm really sorry did I, uh, hurt you?"

"No, Harmony, it's-" He tried to comfort her but she had already run out of the door and to her own room. Leaving spencer rubbing his neck and thinking a mile a minute.

_**xoxoxo** _

The next day, Reid was wearing a high-collared shirt, his hair arranged around his neck as if he was hiding something. The tension between them was awkward to say the least. Reid decided to bring coffee, knowing Harmony hadn't slept, to try and show her he understood.

"Hey, uh- Harm, I brought you coffee… I wasn't sure how you take it so-"

"Thanks" She took it and walked away as Spencer was mid-babble. She walked into the centre of the room and picked the first law-enforcement officer she could find to strike up mindless conversation with. She was embarrassed, she knew he was being kind because of what he had seen and she hated it. The gesture made her feel guilty, so she decided to avoid him.

"What did you say now, kid?" Morgan asked Reid, giving him a look.

"N-nothing, I just bought her coffee" His voice went high-pitched in insistence although there was a slight strangled tone to his voice today.

They had a break in the case, a description from a woman that managed to get away that confirmed it was the same man from the ATM. As glad for the woman who managed to escape Winters was, she knew this meant whoever the unsub found next he would be brutal. Unforgiving. They needed to find him fast.

JJ was working with the media to get the sketch out into the public, now they knew for sure this was the man. She needed to hold a press conference but she wanted to make sure she had all of the facts before she continued.

"They've named him. The papers! It's as if they want him to stay on the streets" JJ said, clearly annoyed. Winters peered over her shoulder and laughed, then faltered when everyone looked at her and then explained herself.

"It's just – _'Boston strangler'?_ I mean, how long did it take them to come up with that?" She muttered, rolling her eyes before folding the paper and chucking it in the waste bin. Reid was the last one that lingered on Winters after the rest went back to their work. Prentiss looked up from her work, catching Reid looking and she had to ask.

"What's going on with you two?" Prentiss asked as she watched Reid staring at Winters, yet again with a look of concern on his face. Winters looked up, following Prentiss' line of vision to see Reid's ears burning as he put his attention back to the map on the whiteboard.

"I embarrassed myself in front of him, that's all. I knocked on his door in the middle of the night, I thought it was Rossi's door"

"Oh, uh, you and Rossi…?"

"Oh my God why does _everyone_ think that?!" She said incredulously, " _No_ , I just need someone if the unsub gets, um, stuck in my brain…"

"So why would you be embarrassed, it's a simple mistake?" Emily asked, scrutinising her face but Harmony stayed silent.

"Look, just talk to him, he's very understanding I'm sure he doesn't mind at all" JJ said kindly and Harmony nodded, thinking it over. Maybe she should talk to him? It was just a nightmare, she didn't mean to try and strangle him to death. She couldn't keep avoiding him, it was starting to make the group tense around her again.

"We have another crime scene. He's escalating. Winters when the techs clear out, you'll have to go, we're desperate" Hotch announced to the room after receiving a call, an apologetic look at Winters. Shit. She was scared this was going to happen.

"Uh, Hotch, it might be actually beneficial for me to go, considering that-" Reid started to speak up, his voice a little huskier than normal, clearly covering for her.

"I can do it" Winters insisted quickly, nodding at Hotch, cutting Reid off from telling the others. She was embarrassed, she didn't want him to have to cover for her. Reid appeared a bit deflated as the conversation moved on.

Finally, just before the conference everyone went over the details with JJ one last time, "It's ownership. Deciding when and where they can die. He sees them as objects, sub-human, a way to assert control"

"Winters is right, you'll need to humanise the victims as much as possible _and_ emphasise that he is the one in control of this"

JJ nodded, she knew this job inside out, but she appreciated the others pointing her in the right direction, she walked up to the stand and started to address the mass of film crews outside. Winters went and stood next to Reid, feeling bad for the way she had acted towards him.

"Will you come with me?" She whispered.

"What?"

"To the crime scene. I'm sorry for cutting you off, uh, will you come with me to the scene?" She repeated and he nodded, focusing back on JJ's press conference.

_**xoxoxo** _

At the crime scene, everyone was gone except Reid and Winters. They were walking through a back alley, the scene immediately telling them both he had been interrupted.

"I'm, uh, sorry for avoiding you and, uh, cutting you off all day… I was, well, I still am embarrassed"

"Nightmares are perfectly natural, you know statistically speaking 50-85% of adults report having regular nightmares with women tending to report nightmares more often than men" Reid started "and given your emotional perception, it's actually highly probable that you would have nightmares that are as violent as the minds that you inhabit, in fact, Revonsuo et al. (2016) suggested that dreams are an ingrained simulation of waking social life, with a mixture of motivations and scenarios that emote either positively or negatively depending on which you encounter the most frequently"

She let him speak, it was oddly comforting becoming a statistic, usually she was the oddity. The one different from the others. He came to a natural stop as they came to the site where the body was found, "Thanks" She smiled, crouching down beside the numbered spot.

"For what?" he tucked his hands in his pockets, looking down.

"Comforting me… your statistics, they're helpful"

"Yeah, I find that they put me at ease" He grinned, "Not many other people do though" He shrugged a little, hands still in his pockets.

"Do you mind, uh, looking away?"

"Yeah, uh, sure" turns away, scratching the back of his head.

"The bitch got away. The bitch left again. She will pay. This one will pay" She shouted, voice echoing down the alley, "I walked over, holding her by the neck. Slim-build, brunette. How I like them, how I like my playthings" Reid had turned around as she moved, his eyes widened at the bluntness of her words despite having seen her on four other cases now. It was hard to watch, hard to hear but absolutely fascinating from a scientific point of view, "I was angry, in a rush, I didn't have time to masturbate over this one. I was spooked, my cock throbbing but no release. They were close, I heard something and I was-" her eyes whipped back to the road and she hurried back down it, looking both ways. Reid followed suit just as Harmony snapped out of it, holding her head.

"Uh, Winters?"

"Patrol. Someone that was on patrol here, we need to find out who it was" She started to worry, shaking, panicking in the way she felt the woman must have, "I've-he-he's taken someone low-risk, not his usual. He was interrupted, it's messed with the- he'll be mad. Brutal. We need to-" she didn't finish this sentence, something clicked, "Was there a police patrol here last night, he might have been interrupted by one of those?"

"Garcia. We'll call Garcia" Reid said, already dialling the number. Turns out, their fears were correct. The female officer on duty happened to be slim-build, brunette. Garcia started to look for the undercover cop car as it should be traceable.

"He's calculating, but this was on the fly. He'll have messed up. In fact, I know he's messed up somewhere" Winters said into the phone.

"Thank you my little geniuses, I will be contacting you when my own genius comes into play!"

"It's, uh genii-" Reid started but Garcia hung up before he could finish. Reid put a comforting hand on Winter's shoulder as she calmed down, walking together to the car.

_**xoxoxo** _

The team found the unsub, Garcia managed to triangulate the location and they descended on the warehouse managing to save officer Alvez just in time. Winters wasn't allowed to come, not until she had got her gun licence and proved she could be trusted in negotiating with the others. They filled her in when they got back, Morgan took the shot. The unsub was dead, now he would only live in Harmony's head. It was late and so they decided to stay another night at the motel before leaving early next morning.

"Winters" Hotch gestured for her to wait behind. The rest of the team gave her a look but left them to it.

"Aaron, we can do this in the morning" Rossi tried to save Harmony from this embarrassment. She could get agitated when she was embarrassed.

"Go on, get it over with" Winters said as Hotch gave her a hard stare.

"Reid has informed us that you had a severe reaction to this case, that you tried to strangle him?"

"Oh, he mentioned that then…" She tailed off, unsure if she was getting the sack for real this time. Reid did appear to be the one everyone protected and simultaneously took for granted so her showing up and half-throttling him probably caused a bit of a stir.

"Only when JJ noticed the marks on his neck" Rossi cut in, knowing she would be gunning for Reid now, "Kid, I told you to come to me if that ever happened"

"I, uh, tried to, I knocked on the wrong door and then he invited me in and I fell asleep which I try not to do in front of other people in case of that very scenario and then the next thing I know I'm being restrained – the man is surprisingly strong for a stick insect – and Reid's neck is crazy shades of purple"

"You have to report this straight away, I understand that Reid doesn't wish to press charges as you couldn't help it, but it is something we have to be made aware of"

"You think I'm gonna go all Will Graham and get myself institutionalised?" She muttered, looking at her feet. The comment was flippant, but she was nervous about it herself. She couldn't deny it.

"Harm, this is serious. I'm the one monitoring you, you gotta keep us informed" Rossi said, a friendly pat to her shoulder.

"Okay, I will. I'll tell you next time, if I ever strangle Reid to death in my sleep" She smiled wide as Rossi sighed. Humour like this was how she coped.

"Well, get some sleep. It'll be an early start" Hotch recommended.

"Sir, yes, sir!" She mock saluted at Hotch, then Rossi before quick-marching up the stairs towards her room. The older men didn't turn in yet, instead going to the bar to have a scotch before bed. Talk soon turned to the newest member of the team.

"Dave, are you sure she can handle this? She's a nice person, when she wants to be, I don't want to put her at risk"

"She knows the risk, we're the best place for her. She hated British intelligence, she tried to work with the chief inspector at Scotland Yard as much as possible instead. If she wasn't on our team, somebody else would use her"

"I understand that, but the emotional toll it puts on her – let alone the rest of the team supporting her-"

"Way I see it, she's mellowing with the team - never seen her happier, more comfortable" Rossi assured him. This was true, the team was doing her good, as he had suspected.

"I'd hate to see her mad" Hotch muttered, a small smile tugging at his lips as he thought of her attitude, before shaking his head and finishing off his drink. The men spoke for a little longer, before turning in themselves.

_**xoxoxo** _

Spencer walked down the steps and handed his keycard in, walking over to her when he recognised her face. She smiled, she had known Reid would be the first down into the lobby and so she had made a point of beating him to it. She had bought coffee, the way she hoped he would like, and waited as he walked over to her. She passed him the cup and he nodded his thanks, not quite woken up enough for a verbal thanks yet. They drank their coffees in silence for a little before Harmony spoke up.

"You ever hear of the phrase 'snitches get stitches'?" She asked, smiling. He actually shook his head, having not heard of that particular popular phrase, "It doesn't matter, Reid" She smiled.

"I'm sorry for telling them"

"Hey, don't apologise – you need to keep me in check" she said, her fingertips brushing against the side of his neck as she inspected the horrible bruising the same fingers had left. Spencer didn't say a word, just watching her sad eyes. She winced, dropping her hand away and shaking her head. They were waiting in the lobby for the others. There was a silence for a while, one that Spencer started to fill with facts about strangulation. He came to a stop as he saw Harmony in deep thought, she was smiling at him – his facts. They really did put her at ease, even if the facts came about because she had her hands wrapped around his neck.

"Are you okay?" Spencer asked, her slight smile not fading. She nodded, grin widening as he looked at her bemused.

"I meant it, you know – if anything, even slight, happens I, uh, trust you to do the right thing. By the team and by me" She whispered. He almost didn't catch it. He didn't need her empathy to tell this was a big thing for her to admit.

"I-I understand now. It wasn't you, you- it's like something from science fiction, you become them" Reid explained, having studied the way she acted so different. It was fascinating.

"Can I tell you a secret?" she asked and he nodded. Trust is gained fast when someone witnesses you in your nightmare with your hand around their throat.

"The reason I haven't trained to shoot before is because I'm scared. I'm not scared of me using the gun but I am fucking terrified that one day, under the influence of somebody else's mind, I use that weapon to kill"

"They wouldn't let you if they didn't believe it was safe" He assured her, "I trust you" he said, echoing her previous statement. She smiled at him, a tiny glimmer in her eye. She hadn't had anyone to talk to like this before, she kept people at a distance but with him, hell, with the whole group she felt herself softening.

The jet was peaceful, some people had fallen into a light sleep, Reid was trying to get someone to play cards with him and some were just talking quietly. That was, until a loud piercing scream cracked through the air like a whip.

"No, you _bastard!_ Fuck you, I'll kill you, I'm from _fucking C_ hicago!" She screamed, fighting off two figures. She woke wide-eyed and breathless. This was starting to get worse. She never used to be able to sleep in front of others, but with how sleep-deprived she had started to be she had dozed off to the guitar strumming in her earphones.

Morgan and Hotch had been restraining her as she thrashed around at them. Morgan's face was concerned, he saw her as a friend now after all the time they had spent together training. She hadn't said anything about this and he hadn't believed Reid's story of night-strangling, some days he had thought of strangling Reid to shut him up – so he guessed that Harmony had just flipped. She appeared the type.

"I'm _so_ sorry" She said, her eyes glistening as she looked around at the panicked faces. For profilers, a lot of them wore their hearts on their sleeves. She saw the scratches up both Hotch and Morgan's arms and grimaced further. The men shrugged, backing up slowly in case she went feral on them while she was awake.

Instead of shouting or telling her that they didn't want her near them anymore, they did the opposite. Everyone, beginning with Reid, started to talk about the nightmares they would get from particularly bad cases. Even Prentiss famed for keeping her past close to her chest joined in, her own eyes glistening as Harmony's had. She really appreciated all of them sharing this way, it made her feel less of a freak. She thanked them profusely and some even moved in to hug her, albeit cautiously. When Morgan came up to her, they shared a little smile as he spoke.

"Hey there, little mama, Chicago? You _ain't_ from Chicago"

"Oh fuck, I didn't-" Her face, she started to smile and Morgan started to laugh. The whole jet ended up laughing at the way she had screamed it in Morgan's face.

_"Put the nightmare together. If you do not wake up screaming, you have not put it together well." - R. A. Lafferty_


End file.
